Ke'Shawn Vaughn (5) waits with other players for a drill to start during Vanderbilt's first football practice of preseason camp
Friday Aug. 3, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn.
Larry McCormack / The Tennessean

A year after Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon lost the Heisman Trophy to Marcus Mariota, Illinois recruited Ke’Shawn Vaughn to the same Big Ten.

And now Vanderbilt offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig, who coached Gordon, has re-introduced that great ball-carrier to Vaughn, his newest running back.

“Oh yeah, (Ludwig) showed us some things from one of his Wisconsin teams just to show us what we could be,” said Vaughn, who transferred from Illinois to Vanderbilt a year ago.

Vaughn is in a deep backfield that must divvy up carries this season after the graduation of Vanderbilt career rushing leader Ralph Webb.

Vaughn, the former Pearl-Cohn standout, will get his share in his debut season with the Commodores. Senior Khari Blasingame has been Webb’s sidekick the past two seasons, and sophomore Jamauri Wakefield has a lot of ability.

Ludwig said it’s a challenge to manage the personalities of the three running backs because “everybody wants the ball, and there’s only one.” But he’s drawn from his past success as the offensive coordinator of Wisconsin’s steam-rolling ground game to encourage his ball-carriers.

Wisconsin teaching Vanderbilt to share carries

Ludwig called plays for the Wisconsin offense for two seasons, when three running backs shared the spotlight.

Gordon followed with a 2014 Heisman Trophy campaign, rushing for 2,587 yards and 29 touchdowns. But Clement and Tanner McEvoy still added 949 yards and 574 yards, respectively, that season.

Those stats would be difficult for any team to match, including Vanderbilt. But Ludwig wants the same principles in the Commodores’ “run-to-win mentality” in 2018.

“He showed us that stat line when he had two backs go over 1,000 yards and a third-string guy almost get 600 yards,” Vaughn said. “He was putting that in our mind so we know that this is what it’s going to take to win games – that we are all going to run the ball.”

Creativity in Vanderbilt playbook

In preseason camp, Ludwig can install the basic offense and then tinker with some creative wrinkles, which he has not yet shown in practices open to the media.

Ludwig hinted that he could use two tailbacks in some formations. Jaire George, son of Titans great Eddie George, has been the primary fullback in camp, but Blasingame played some fullback in his career before moving to tailback.

Ludwig also could find a small role for junior Josh Crawford and impressive freshman Ja’Veon Marlow, but that might stretch the playbook too thin. Either way, Ludwig is eager to devise ways to use one of the team’s talent-rich positions.

“I have a lot of confidence in drawing back from my experiences in coaching good backs throughout my career, finding ways and being creative in how you’re using them,” Ludwig said. “It is a balancing act, but what a great challenge and great opportunity as an offensive coordinator.”

Reach Adam Sparks at asparks@tennessean.com and on Twitter @AdamSparks.